It has been another quiet week for human-bear interactions in the Bow Valley. In K-country, grizzly bears have been moving to higher elevations. There continue to be reports of black bears in and around Canmore and the MD of Bighorn hamlets, primarily eating dogwood or scavenging for fruit on fruit trees in residential yards. If you have fruit in your yard, please remove it to avoid attracting bears to these areas.

Photo by: Beth Spencer

The popular Ptarmagian Cirque Trail is closed for a mother bear and cubs. Please choose a different trail if you are looking to go see some colourful larches this weekend.

This past week, well-known bear 148 was shot in a legal hunt in BC. More information can be found in this article from CBC.

The closures and warnings may have been removed for some areas around Canmore, but that does NOT mean that there are no bears in these areas. You should always remain alert wherever you are recreating, and remember that bears can be encountered anytime, anywhere!

You may hear some loud bugling as elk rutting season is underway with several incidents already reported. Male elk can be especially defensive of the group of female elk they are protecting. Be aware of your surroundings, keep pets on leash, give elk lots of space (more than 30 meters), do not get between male elk and his female group. If an elk does charge, prepare to use your bear spray and place a large, immovable object between you and the elk.

Hunting season has started. Please be aware of your surroundings and stay clear of dead animals. Hunters should always carry and use bear spray as the first line of defence, even if they are carrying a gun.

Warnings and Closures

*There are no current warnings or closures in the Bow Valley (east of the Banff park gate to Bow Valley Provincial Park).

There are additional warnings and closures in Kananaskis Country and Banff National Park, please see the links below.

Additional bear warnings and closures are available here for anyone visiting Kananaskis Country and Alberta Parks.

Additional warnings and closures are available here for Banff National Park.

The information above is based upon a compilation of bear information provided by government agencies and unconfirmed sightings reported by the public over the last week. It is not intended to be used as a real time, complete record of where bears are in the valley.

And Now some Paws-itive News

Interesting fact: While bears’ mating season occurs in June and early July, the fertilized egg (blastocyst) does not implant until much later in the fall. If the female bear has not reached a healthy weight to sustain her and her young through the winter, implantation does not occur. This means that if a female bear has a productive summer (with lots of food and weight gain), she will be able to support one or more offspring. If not, she can absorb the fertilized egg(s) to save energy and she will not bear any offspring.

By: Amar Athwal

Please remember BEARS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED ANYWHERE, ANYTIME!

Important Note:

Please do not use the comment box to report sightings of wildlife.

Report any sightings of a bear, cougar, wolf or any aggressive wildlife in Kananaskis or the Bow Valley to Kananaskis Emergency Services 403.591.7755

What is this?The above tag cloud is a visual depiction of Zones used for reporting Bear & Wildlife Activity. The bigger the font, the more activity. Click on any Zone to view all related Activity Reports.